The Captain and the Coyote
by Kurohane Ookami
Summary: Enraged, the Primera siezed the opportunity to attack, and darted through the defences of the Captain, only to turn his head as her realized the other presence that had always resided inside of him was different. "Lilynette!" he called. "LILYNETTE!"


He watched the Captain come towards him again, advancing in that odd way of his that reminded Starrk of a cat, perhaps the wind itself.

He readied his weapons, watching as he grew ever closer, and he suddenly heard a howl. A blur of silver and blue flashed by him, leaving a wind in its wake.

He could only watch in horror as she leapt in front of him, defending him from this man, defending him though she had no hands or weapons other than her tooth and claw.

_No!_

Snarling, three wolves, made up of both he and Lilynette, launched their lithe, glowing bodies at the Captain, maws wide and hungry for blood.

_No!_

Easily, almost with no effort, the Captain swung his swords, and his wolves, made out of his soul and Lilynette's, disappeared, flashes of light illuminating the fact even more that they were gone.

_NO!_

Enraged, the Primera siezed the opportunity to attack, and darted through the defences of the Captain, only to turn his head as he realized the other presence that had always resided inside of him was different. "Lilynette!" he called, a sense of forboding growing in his stomach. "Lilynette!"

There was no answer. No sign of her anywhere.

The dust slowly began to clear. "_LILYNETTE_!" he roared in panic, fear taking root in his heart as he realized it wasn't different.

She was gone.

_She couldn't be gone_. He stubbornly clung to that thought like a lifeline, trying to keep himself breathing, trying to think this through.

But somewhere deep inside of him, Starrk knew Lilynette was gone, sacrificing herself for the man she was connected to on an instinctual level.

Memories whirled through his mind.

_Of when he and Lilynette had first become two beings rather than one._

_Of Aizen finding them and bringing them to Hueco Mundo because of their strength and the longing Starrk felt to have comrades so he would no longer be alone. _

_Of Lilynette, teasing him and beating him as he tried to sleep rather than play with her. _

_Of Lilynette in battle, when they fought as one being in two bodies. _

_Of himself, sitting in that desert and seeing her look up at him and ask his name. _

_Of their pain when they were apart. Of their rage when one was hurt. _

This knowledge that Lilynette was gone..it tore through him, leaving raw, gaping wounds he knew would never heal.

With renewed vigor, he attacked the Captain, his blue swords deadly in his grief.

He ignored the words his opponent said calmly to him. Rather, he almost growled at the man, tempted to bare his teeth like his namesake and rip this man to shreds.

_You took her away from me.. _he silently howled. _Because of you, I am alone!_

Thrusting his sword forward, he tried to kill this man that had killed the only person, the only family, who had ever been there for him since the beginning. The one person who understood him better than anyone else ever would.

No one, not even his comrades, knew anything about him.

He'd kept to himself, rarely wishing to speak to others unless it was needed. Rather, he'd slept, mostly. What else was he supposed to do? He only wanted companionship. He didn't want to fight. It wasn't in his nature. It wasn't in either of their nature unless needed.

And yet, he'd been forced to come here, and thus, lose Lilynette.

She was _everything_ to him. She'd become so much closer to him than anyone else in the world...and now she was gone. Taken away from him like a knife in his chest.

This time, he could not help the slight curl of his lip, the teeth that shone through brightly in the sunlight for only a moment before they were hidden again. Starrk raised his swords, slashing, hacking, and deperately trying to kill this man in front of him as if it could bring her back.

He knew she wouldn't, couldn't, ever come back to him.

He was alone.

_I am alone.._

Pain blossomed through him as the man slashed, managing to catch his arm in the process. It felt as though his arm had been sliced clean off, but as he looked, there was nothing but a thin slice in his sleeve, revealing the torn skin and crimson that seeped out of it steadily.

Starrk began to feel himself fall within, hiding and allowing his more animalistic nature out to shred this pathetic man who was so much a coward he allowed games to toy with the Primera rather than fighting him head on, as most opponents would.

_I am..alone.. _

He gritted his teeth as their swords met, both trying to unbalance the other with only their physical attributes. They locked gazes, and within his enemies deep eyes he saw grim determination to not lose. With a heave and a twist, he slipped free and retreated back, nursing his arm wound slightly, examining it before switching his gaze back to his opponent.

_Lilynette..give me strength.. _he silently pleaded to his missing half, trying to hold back all of his throbbing, aching grief that threatened to break and flood him, paralyze him. He took in a deep breath, opened his silvery orbs, and stared at that man, that man who had taken everything from him. His gaze shifted, and he stared at the man who had taken he and Lilynette in, had given him companionship.

And in the end, had smashed that illusion like the glass it was.

Recklessly, he braced himself as the Captain advanced again, holding his head high. He would _not_ bow. He would _not_ cower. He _would_ fight, even if it lead to his own demise.

_Let us run once more, Lilynette.._ he whispered, though he knew she were no longer there. _Let us run him down and win this battle..._

He raised his swords as the man struck, quick as a viper, at his chest, at the Hollow hole that lay there.

Instant agony flashed through his veins, surging through every nook and cranny in his body and staying there. Stifling a howl, he felt himself lose control of his body, felt himself fall back onto empty air, felt himself begin to fall to the groud below.

And suddenly, he could hear her again, feel her comforting presence even though he could not see her.

_Starrk.. _she whimpered, relief clear in her voice.

_Lilynette.. _he breathed in equal relief. _Let us run.._

_Whatever you want, Starrk. _He could hear the slight amusement, hear her tears as she spoke to him.

_We'll go..and explore this new world..won't we? We'll go..and run..where no one can bind us or steal us away..from one another..._

_Of course Starrk..as long as we're together.._

And that's when it dawned on him, as he gazed up at that man, that man who had shattered the illusion for him, and he smiled slightly.

_Thank you..Captain.._

Then he turned, stared at Aizen, stared at the man who thought he could become God himself, and realized how much of a fool he'd been. Realized that he had only been a pawn in this much larger plot.

_I'm sorry..Lilynette.._

_For what?_

_I finally realized...I was never alone.._

He could feel her now, feel her through the fading pain, see her, feel the longing to embrace her, feeling as though it had been thousands of years since he had last seen her. He could feel the same longing from her, feel her shaking sobs as she finally realized that he wasn't an illusion, wasn't just wishful thinking. Realized that he was dying, and she couldn't do anything about it.

_Of course not Starrk..we always had each other.._

_"I know that now.." _he breathed as the world around him began to fade into shadows. He felt the warmth around him as his missing half embraced him gently, and gently took him away from the cruel world that remained beyond what he'd seen.

_I'm not alone..._

_I never was..alone._

_Because we always had each other.._


End file.
